Lukwata
, , and ) |Reported=1902 |Researchers=• William Hichens • Bernard Heuvelmans }}The lukwata is a lake monster reported from Lake Victoria and its tributaries, in , , and . Etymology "Lu" means "giant" in the Ganda language, but the etymology of the "wata" part of the name is unclear. George Eberhart writes that the name "lukwata" could also possibly originate from the expression "look at water!" spoken in imperfect English. Description The lukwata is described as a 20' to 30' long animal dark in colour, with a round or ovoid head on a 4' long neck. According to eyewitness T. E. Cox, it has a thick body, two humps on its back, and a snakelike head. It is apparently described as having barbels. It is said to be an aggressive animal which swims with its head projecting from the water, moving with a vertical undulating movement. It can cause whirlpools, fights crocodiles, and attempts to seize fisherman from boats and canoes. It has a loud, bellowing cry. Parts of its body are greatly valued as charms by locals. Sightings Undated Governor of Jinja W. Grant saw an animal swimming with its head out of the water in Lake Victoria's Napoleon Gulf. The animal was too far away for him to describe properly.Hobley, C. W. "On Some Unidentified Beasts", Journal of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society 6 (1913) According to C. W. Hobley, the Baganda, Wasoga, and Kavirondo people on the northern shores of Lake Victoria were making sacrifices to the lukwata in the late 1900's or 1910's, because the last time they had seen it had been just before the outbreak of a sleeping sickness epidemic: they believed that it had been shot by a white man, and that the epidemic was punishment. 1900 In 1900, Sir Clement Hill encountered a large, long-necked animal with a dark, roundish head on the Kenyan part of Lake Victoria.Hichens, William, "African Mystery Beasts" Discovery 18 (1937) The animal rose from the water and tried to grab the man who was on look-out on the prow of the steamer: circa 1930's In the 1930s, E. G. Wayland, director of the Geological Survey of Uganda, was shown a fragment of alleged lukwata bone. He also claimed to have himself heard its booming call, and came to the conclusion that there was no explanation other than the call being that of the lukwata, whatever it may be. 1959 Late in 1959, T. E. Cox and his wife, on Lake Victoria, saw a large, black animal among some reeds near the shore of Mohoru Bay. They estimated it was 20 to 30 feet long. When it noticed their presence, it swam towards the centre of the lake with a vertical undulating motion. Theories Hector Duff suggested the lukwata was an African rock python (Python sebae). Based on its barbels, it could also be an unknown species of large catfish. Bernard Heuvelmans suggested it could be an African version of the long-necked sea serpent, based on the Cox sighting: vertical undulations are a mammalian, not reptilian, feature. He also suggested that the lukwata could be the same kind of animal as the lau. Similar cryptids Heuvelmans suggested a connection between the lukwata and the lau. It was also connected with the dingonek by contemporaries, though the two cryptids actually have little in common. It has also sometimes been included in the list of mokele-mbembe-like "long-necked reptiles" which have been speculated to be living sauropods. Notes and references Category:Cryptids Category:Africa Category:Kenya Category:Tanzania Category:Uganda Category:Lake monsters Category:River & lake monsters of the Nile system Category:Theory: Mistaken identity snake Category:Theory: New catfish species Category:No recent sightings